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Quality control for the diagnosis of Toxoplasma gondii reactivation in SCT patients using PCR assays

Bone Marrow Transplantation volume 28, pages 527–528 (2001)Cite this article

PCR is the major breakthrough for the diagnosis of toxoplasmosis, an infection due to the protozoan Toxoplasma gondii. Primarily developed for diagnosis of congenital toxoplasmosis on amniotic fluid,1 the PCR assays were secondarily used for the diagnosis of toxoplasmosis in allogeneic bone marrow transplant recipients.2,3,4 In these patients, reactivation of latent cysts is thought to be the main mechanism of cerebral or disseminated toxoplasmosis. The detection of T. gondii DNA in blood has highlighted the possibility to anticipate the diagnosis compared with radiological findings and histology.4,5 However, the reliability of the PCR tests is crucial to evaluate the prevalence of Toxoplasma reactivation when the detection of circulating DNA is the only clue to its reactivation.

With the aim of preparing an EBMT multicentric prospective study on the prevalence of toxoplasmosis reactivation in SCT patients, we initiated a quality control study with four European laboratories. T. gondii tachyzoites (strain S3, type II, zymodeme 2) were harvested from the peritoneal exudate of Swiss mice intraperitoneally infected 5 days before, washed, counted using a hemocytometer, serially diluted in Toxoplasma seroınegative EDTA blood, from 3 × 105 to 3 tachyzoites/ml of blood, and mailed with negative controls. Shipment was made without cooling using a 24-h delivery service. The sending center waited for the acknowledgment of reception by fax before starting its own PCR procedure.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Hôpital américain de Paris, Neuilly, France

    JM Costa

  2. Hospital de la Santa Creu, Barcelona, Spain

    C Munoz & R Martino

  3. Laboratory of Parasitology, Robert Koch Institute, Berlin, Germany

    D Krüger

  4. Universitättsklinikum Charité Hospital, Berlin, Germany

    TK Held

  5. CHU de Limoge, Limoge, France

    M-L Dardé

  6. Service d'hématologie clinique, Hôpital Henri Mondor, Créteil, France

    C Cordonnier

  7. Laboratoire de Parasitologie, Hôpital Henri Mondor, 41 avenue de Maréchal De Lattre de Tassigny, Créteil, 94010, France

    S Bretagne

Authors
  1. JM Costa
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  2. C Munoz
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  3. D Krüger
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  4. R Martino
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  5. TK Held
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  6. M-L Dardé
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  7. C Cordonnier
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  8. S Bretagne
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on behalf of the Infectious Diseases Working Party of the European Group for Blood and Marrow Transplantation

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Costa, J., Munoz, C., Krüger, D. et al. Quality control for the diagnosis of Toxoplasma gondii reactivation in SCT patients using PCR assays. Bone Marrow Transplant 28, 527–528 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bmt.1703175

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